World News | Toyota to Invest USD 1.3 Billion at Georgetown, Kentucky, Factory to Build Battery Packs and New Electric SUV

Georgetown (US), Feb 6 (AP) Toyota says it will invest USD 1.3 billion at its huge factory complex in Georgetown, Kentucky, in part so it can build an all-new three-row electric SUV to be sold in the US.

The company says the money will help with future electric vehicle production, including the addition of a line to assemble battery cells into packs for other EVs. But it won't add any new jobs to the complex, which now employs nearly 9,400 workers.

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The investment brings to nearly USD 10 billion the amount of money that Toyota has spent at the plant, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Toyota wouldn't give further details about the new SUV, including its price or when it would arrive in showrooms.

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In October Toyota said it would invest another USD 8 billion at a hybrid and electric vehicle battery factory it's building in North Carolina, more than doubling previous investments and the expected number of new jobs.

The company now expects the plant to employ more than 5,000 people when it begins operations near Greensboro in 2025. Toyota has put about USD 13.9 billion into the plant, which will be a key supplier for the Kentucky factory that will build the company's first US-made electric vehicles.

Environmental groups have long criticized Toyota for being slow to move toward fully electric vehicles, instead clinging to gas-electric hybrid technology. The company has a goal of selling 1.5 million to 1.8 million electric or hybrid vehicles in the US by 2030. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)